Cable operators have widely deployed high-speed data services on cable television systems. These data services allow subscriber-side devices, such as personal computers, to communicate over an ordinary cable TV network Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) cable plant. A Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) connects the cable TV network to a data network, such as the Internet. The Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) is one of the cable modem standards used for transferring data over the cable TV network.
The CMTS includes an admission control component that controls whether a new connection can be admitted into the cable network. This admission control component determines current bandwidth utilization by summing pre-computed bandwidth estimates for existing connections and then comparing the current bandwidth utilization to a pre-computed available bandwidth. If the difference between the determined current bandwidth and the available bandwidth exceeds a preset fixed margin, the new connection is admitted.